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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Nation, the dog-whistle of "politicians determining what's taught in schools!" has reared its ugly head again.

Much like "politicians deciding their own salaries", "politicians determining what's taught in schools" is one of those tried-and-true hot button issues that never ceases to piss off voters who are angry that people who don't agree with them about every single issue actually got elected. And of course, the politicians are in a classic no-win scenario - as soon as they put the issue out of their direct control and say "we've got an equation now that will automatically set the pay for our council members" or "we've appointed experts in the field to determine curriculum for students in this province", the people who are against whatever the outcome is go completely ballistic in their demands for the politicians to directly insert themselves back INTO the process, with old saws like "council should vote down the pay increase that the equation gave them", or "we need to elect a government that will get back to the 3 R's".

Well, with the assertion by some of the usual suspects that a cadre of socialist activist teachers and the Notley Government are using curriculum redesign - and, by extension, the entire school system - to program collectivist, anti-Christian, anti-conservative ideals into our unsuspecting children, I have a humble suggestion:

Pull your kids out of school.

If you really believe that the teachers at your kids' school are trying to brainwash them with values and ideas that you don't want them to have... pull them out. Homeschool them. It's completely within your rights. Don't let the pinko commies have access to your kids, and your kids won't have to learn about "the gays". If you know better than the teacher what your kids need and how they learn, then YOU be the teacher.

What's that? You don't have time to stay home with the kids? Well, I guess that's a valid point - though, I was always told that if something's important, you MAKE the time... but whatever. You've made your choice, and your choice is to drop your little darlings off at a publicly-funded institution of learning for 7-or-so hours per day.

That's perfectly fine. Nobody's judging you. Most of your neighbours send their kids to these wretched hives of scum and villainy, too.

But if you're going to avail yourself of this building full of trained professionals who are going to take responsibility for educating your children, you have to accept that you no longer have exclusive control and pre-approval of every single fact that they're exposed to. In choosing to use the public education system, you forfeited that right. They're going to hear things from the teacher that they've never heard from you. They're going to hear things from their fellow students that they've never heard from you.

Do you still have a say? SURE you do. You get to elect a school board. You get to elect an MLA. You get to attend parent council meetings, and meetings with the teacher, and you can call the principal and storm into her office any time you like to rail against your kids learning about Islam or the metric system or being told that the world is over a billion years old. You have a say.

But what you DON'T have is control.

And if you WANT control, you have only one choice:

Pull your kids out of school.

Pull them out, and those lazy socialist teachers and their propagandist curriculum cooked up around Notley's kitchen table while they were reading the Communist Manifesto won't be your problem.

But if you're going to use the public system, you have to accept that your opinion doesn't make something true, or factual. Your kids are going to be exposed to information you don't agree with. You don't have control.

Yes, I know you pay taxes. I know that your money goes into running those schools, and paying those teachers, and as a taxpayer you have a right to value for your money.

But I'll tell you what: Start the car right now, go downtown, and drive the wrong way up a one-way street. Swerve around a lot. Wave a bottle of whisky out the window. When the nice police officer stops you for a chat, tell him that you pay taxes, your money goes into paving that road and paying his salary, and as a taxpayer you demand that he just let you go on your merry way.

Or even better: Drive up to Edmonton. Visit our beautiful Legislature. Walk through security, and head straight for the Premier's Office. Pound on the door, and demand to sit in her chair. Because you're a taxpayer, and you paid for the chair, and you pay the salaries of everyone in the building.

Let me know how that works out for you.

Here's the thing: You can't opt out of traffic laws. If you're going to drive, you have to obey them. And you can't opt out of being governed by someone you disagree with. Unless you move to another jurisdiction, the laws they pass will still apply to you.

But you CAN opt out of those terrible public schools, and those collectivist teachers, fangs dripping with the venom of Che Guevara worship and union politics, and the shockingly secular and humanist curriculum. You can't opt out of PAYING for it, just like you can't opt out of paying for cops and roads and the offices of politicians you don't like, but you can choose to not expose your kids to the horrors of public education.

Pull your kids out of school, teach them only what you believe to be true, and make sure they're not exposed to other ideas, lest they be confused by the notion of pluralism.

It'll make it easier for the rest of us to get our kids INTO what is one of the best public school systems in the history of civilization.

1 comment:

Even if you do homeschool your children, you don't have the right to brainwash them with whatever drivel you want. You have to get permission from a board or a private school, and expect to be supervised and evaluated twice a year. And if you want your children to get high school credits, the program must follow the Alberta programs of study, and they must meet the same standards as everyone else. Education is the child's right and the parents' responsibility. There is no such thing as parental rights.

Who Is The Enlightened Savage?

The Enlightened Savage (Joey Oberhoffner) is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private (small business owner) and public (provincial public service) sectors. He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk, with a sometimes disturbing affinity for Montreal Smoked Meat, gadgets, and well-written television.

Joey began blogging in late 2006 under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. He offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007, did analysis for the 2010 Municipal Election and the 2011 Federal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV for analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008.

Joey also writes at and is a founding contributor for CalgaryPolitics.com.

Hate-mail, love letters, and offers of support for his campaign to change politics for the better can be sent to amishbuggyracing (at) gmail (dot) com.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author himself, and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of any organization for which he either works or volunteers.

Perfecting Alberta

Joey O's Policy Points

"This guy is obviously a raging leftist - how can he possibly call himself a conservative?"

THIS is how. Because the public policies I advocate for are conservative - and I don't have to support your chosen right-wing politician or pet issue to be allowed to use the name "conservative".

- Fixed Provincial Election Dates (I'm leaning towards the second Monday of May, every 4 years. Would VERY rarely come into contact with a late Easter, otherwise it's smooth sailing...)

- Full Disclosure of Donors and their Contribution amounts at all levels of elected office, including internal party races, BEFORE the votes are cast - we deserve to know who's funding the war chests of our would-be leaders. And none of this "numbered corporation" crap either.

- A fully funded and independent Auditor General

- Economic diversification. Even a five-year old knows it's a bad idea to carry all your eggs in one basket.

- Making Alberta's Oilsands the standard bearer for environmental sensitivity while also making them the most sought-after business opportunity for large and mid-size operators in North America.

- Getting our energy products to market and getting a global price for them by working with our neighbours, rather than throwing tantrums and accomplishing nothing.

- Promotion of eco-tourism as a way to showcase the unique character of Alberta's landscape and people and boosting local economies.

- Capping government program spending increases from year to year at the rate of inflation plus population growth.

- Making the MLA "Tax-Free Allowance" just that - an allowance. Anything that isn't spent on expenses related to their work (e.g. rent in Edmonton, vehicular or transportation costs, hospitality) should be returned to the provincial treasury, or taxed as income.

- More recorded votes and fewer in camera sessions at all levels of government. The work of our governments should be public and indexable unless there is a clear reason why it shouldn't be.